Monthly Archives: June 2006

Marvel Comics has released the cover plus five lettered preview pages for “Incredible Hulk” #96, the first issue in the “Planet Hulk: Anarchy” story arc, written by Greg Pak with pencils by Aaron Lopresti. Click on the links below to view the pages.Cover | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5
“Incredible Hulk” #96 hits comic book stores on July 5. Use the Comic Shop Locator Service to find a store near you.

A Monster Guy talks Hulk
Aaron Lopresti is penciling the “Planet Hulk” story in “Giant Size Hulk” #1 as well as the “Anarchy” arc of “Planet Hulk” (beginning with “Incredible Hulk” #96). “Incredible Hulk” writer Greg Pak interviews Lopresti about everything from what’s fun to draw to the collaborative process to Michael Golden’s advice. Also featuring two of Lopresti’s gorgeous new preview pages from “Incredible Hulk” #96 (click on the images to see the full pages).Greg Pak: I seem to remember â€œIncredible Hulkâ€ editor Mark Paniccia telling me that you were hungry to draw the Hulk. What do you find so compelling about the character?
Aaron Lopresti: There are two ways to look at a character. One is from the writer’s stand point the other from the artist’s. My desire to draw the Hulk is purely from the artist’s standpoint. He is a big muscular monster! At heart I am a monster guy, who also loves superheroes. The Hulk is the perfect combination of those things. If I were writing the Hulk, I would say that his dual personality, his struggle with his own humanity, and his struggle to find his place in the universe would be what attracts me to the character. But since I am only drawing, I will stick with the simple visual appeal the character has for me.

A FilmHelp interview by Greg Pak
Steven E. Mallorca’s award winning feature film “Slow Jam King” is now screening at the Imaginasian Theater in New York City. Click here for screening times. And read on for an interview in which Mallorca talks about everything from his set getting raided by police to his favorite slow jams.Greg Pak: Tell us a bit about the film and who should go see it.
Steven E. Mallorca: “Slow Jam King” is an offbeat road comedy about JoJo Enriquez, a Filipino-American wannabe gangsta-pimp who, in his attempts to answer his call to the streets, carjacks Vance, a traveling perfume salesman with an affinity to country music. Stuck along for the ride is JoJo’s friend, Devaun, an ex-funkateer and reluctant family man, who tries to talk sense into JoJo and diffuse the situation. The motley trio embark on an escapist roadtrip to Nashville, where they discover truth, love, and the dirty underbelly of the Nashville country music scene. Anyone that’s looking for a good time, enjoys genre-bending films, and likes their humor on the irreverent side with a healthy dose of multi-cultural absurdity should come out to check out “Slow Jam King.” I sort of equate this film to early ’90s Native Tongues hip hop – it’s fun and a little absurd, but with a conscious voice to it – like if De La Soul, or Tribe Called Quest were a hip hop movie…. or better yet Prince Paul. So if you’re a fan of that kind of hip hop, you’ll definitely get into “Slow Jam King.” Also, I think that anyone who’s a do-it-yourself filmmaker or musician can enjoy the film, too.

… Pakâ€™s script truly soars, turning into the beginnings of an unseen episode we wish theyâ€™d hurry up and film already. … the best payoff to this approach is that final page, which even a new reader can have a shock of surprise over, since Pak has set it up so well within this issue. Itâ€™s an amazing moment, and one which should get this series started with a bang.

A quick FilmHelp tip from Greg Pak
While cutting images from “Incredible Hulk” comics into the “Planet Hulk Trailer,” I noticed that some of the art, which looked fine in Photoshop, appeared strangely oversaturated in Final Cut Pro. The problem? The images were CMYK rather than RGB. To change the color mode, I used Photoshop, navigating to Image > Mode > RGB Color. Imported into Final Cut Pro, the new RGB versions of the images looked just fine — no more oversaturation.
View the final product at Pakbuzz.com or YouTube.com

It’s not only the futuristic settings which link these plots: it’s an exploration of the problems between men and machines, the created and the natural worlds, which creates such a compelling dynamic in these motion pictures. Small black and white shots pepper the account, but it’s the screenplays which are the heart of this fine title.

Greg Pak’s short film “All Amateur Ecstasy” is once again climbing the charts at AtomFilms.com — ranked second among the site’s most viewed “Extreme” films. Click here to watch the film online. WARNING: Not for children and not work safe!
The screenplay for “All Amateur Ecstasy” has been published as part of the “Robot Stories and More Screenplays” paperback, now on sale at Amazon.com.

The PULSE at Comicon.com has interviewed Greg Pak about plans for the next arc of “Planet Hulk.” An excerpt:

THE PULSE: What do you find the most fascinating about this character? What can you just wrap your mind around and be inspired for hours and hours to write by?
PAK: The Hulk has tremendous attitude and enormous confidence, which makes him hugely fun to read and write. I find myself thinking about that line from â€œThe Hustlerâ€ when Paul Newman says, â€œI’m the best there is. And even if you beat me, I’m still the best.â€ Thatâ€™s the Hulk all over â€” incredible arrogance and confidence, yet underneath it all is this semi-conscious awareness that the world is going to do him wrong.